the sweetest boy in the universe

April 2079 - Orion Deppiesse is 45, Violet is 44, Dallas is 14, Delphie and Dakota are 8.

April for the Deppiesse family starts with a bamboo tree fire, and apparently Sheba is the only one who noticed.

Dallas brings home an A+ on his report card. Good job Dallas, we always knew you had it in you! Dallas is finishing up his eighth grade year at Lake County Academy, and will be starting high school in the fall. He works at Earthland Catering after school.

At eight years old now, still the only secrets Dakota and Delphie have to tell are about their brother.

Sweet girls, really, but man, they scare me a little when they're dressed alike.

Violet is working as a ghostwriter now for a living, and she finishes her second novel, The Violent Underground, which is a sequel to her first novel The City, and it's selling great! She's thinking about setting up some kind of author's club and book dealership in the area, and wonders if anyone would be interested.

Dallas walks across the street to Lakeside Beach sometimes, and it's a little cold for swimming still, but it's fun to hang out at the boardwalk and watch all the people walk by, and still keep an eye on his sisters. He calls Lucy to come hang out, since she's really his only real friend, and of course, she brings a posse. You know Lucy always has friends around.

He really wants to have a steady girlfriend, but first he kind of needs to pick a girl. He's always been so shy that the only real friend he even has is Lucy, and he can't date Lucy - not that she's not dateable, it's just that she's Lucy! If he dated Lucy, then who would be his friend?

Dallas and Beau get along okay, but he doesn't really care for Tyler.

So Dallas finally thinks he's ready to ask a girl on a date. We'll worry about the girlfriend part later. Let's have a first date first.

Problem is, he and Vicky don't seem to have the same taste in music. Man, is that going to be a deal-breaker?

Nope, apparently not.

They watched a movie together, but no moves are being put on, since his whole family was home. Maybe some other time? You see, we just thought Dallas was all awkward and unsure with the ladies - really, he just wanted to get to know her better first.

Orion finally gets that big promotion to Game Designer, and it's so monumental that he thinks he should hire a butler. He doesn't even know what a butler does, but he feels successful enough to have one.

Delphie absorbs some subliminal messages before bed...

And is this kid not just the biggest ball of sweetness you ever saw??? Dallas kisses both of his sisters goodnight, every single night!

It's nice having a handy hubby around, because when you're a novelist and you break your writing computer, that's probably a pretty bad thing.

So after the kids are in bed, and everything is in working order, Orion and Violet share some quality time in the hot tub, during a thunderstorm. Yes, this is very intentional. Some people just get off on kinky things, I guess. Like five-hundred-million volts while discussing the hotness of Alice Nova with your wife? No zap for Violet though, not tonight anyway. Darn!

Whoa, he zapped his contacts right out!

And while he waits for new contacts to arrive, Orion is totally trying out the secret agent look. Orion's alien heritage has always been a mysterious kind of rumor around here, and he isn't sure yet if he wants to keep it that way or not. Maybe he'll just be all out and proud with his alien-ness.

The next morning at breakfast, Dallas says, "Um, Dad, your alien is showing."

"I know, Son. I know."

Violet buys The Java Stop with some of Orion's promotion bonus, and she's hoping to turn it into a hip little literary spot for the area's working writers.

Look, she's reading her own book in her own literary cafe! Though, she still isn't sure if she'll be able to turn a profit from this place. It's not really about profit for her anyway though.

And of course, while Violet and Orion are out setting up the shop, and Dallas is left home to watch his sisters... and oh, how he watches his little sisters ;)

But really, they've been dating a couple weeks now and there's something he wants to ask her. He's been dying to have a steady girlfriend ever since he turned fourteen...

and she says yes :)

Ball of sweetness! I'm telling you!

Oh man, I think all along we had a closet Casanova here, and we had no idea! Let her breathe, Dallas, let her breathe!

***

notes: LOL, I could not keep Dallas off that girl for one second! He has 10 points nice though, but man! Talk about suffocation! Kisses and hugs and cuddles under the stars, and that was all autonomous! I'm torn now for what secondary aspiration to give Dallas - family because he wanted to go steady so badly, or a romance with him being all romantic like he apparently is! Wow, I had no idea!

Violet's literary cafe/book dealership is run based on this discussion about buying and selling novels, at MATY. The conclusion being that you can't actually buy or sell novels, but you can duplicate them and give them away. Think, book signing scenario, and maybe the Sim receiving the book can give something back as payment.

I plan on having each of my writers sell Violet copies of their books, and Violet can "sell" them to anyone who comes in for a little bit of profit. It's not the real deal, but it'll work! :)